To harness cacao butter, the beans are harvested from the cacao pods, and then cleaned and roasted. Next, the beans are stripped from their shells and crushed into nibs, which are then ground into a liquid known as cocoa liquor. This liquid is then pressed to separate the fat. This fat, friends, is cacao butter!
How Cocoa Butter is Extracted from Cocoa Paste
FAQ
Is cocoa butter processed or natural?
Is cocoa butter good for you?
How is cocoa separated from cocoa butter?
Why is cocoa butter not vegan?
How to make cocoa butter?
You need to harvest cocoa pods and remove the seeds. Next, you need to dry the cocoa beans. Some manufacturers prefer to roast or ferment the cocoa beans before drying them. The final step is pressing the bean to separate the cocoa butter. There is a lot of hype about cocoa butter, especially as a skincare product.
Shea butter vs Cocoa butter: Which is healthier?
People are familiar with the use of cocoa butter in chocolate and shea butter in skincare products. While both do a good job hydrating and moisturizing the skin, shea and cocoa fats are also used in cooking. In terms of healthfulness, shea has a slight advantage over cocoa butter in that it provides lower amounts of saturated fats and higher amounts of health promoting oleic and linoleic fatty acids. Shea also provides slightly more nutrients overall, including minerals, carotene, as well as vitamins A and E.
What is cocoa butter made of?
The main constituent of cocoa butter is the triglyceride (fat) derived from palmitic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid. For use in chocolate manufacture, the cocoa beans are first fermented and then dried. The beans are then roasted and separated from their hulls to produce cocoa nibs. About 54–58% of the cocoa nibs is cocoa butter.
Where does cocoa butter come from?
Cocoa butter comes from the same plant as cocoa powder. On average, cocoa beans are 50-54% made up of cocoa butter. The remainder goes into the production of cocoa powder. The extraction process separates the butter from the powder. Cocoa butter comes from the cocoa plants, which are indigenous to West Africa.